As fans and family members congratulated her, senior Karene Marshall reflected on what a historic win the Weed Lady Cougars had just pulled off Tuesday night.

After all, the 35-29 semifinal victory over fellow Siskiyou County team and Shasta Cascade opponent Mount Shasta was sending them to the Northern Section Division 5 title game, which last happened 25 years. It was the first time since 1988 the Lady Cougars had earned a trip to the section finals.

Marshall, who led the team with 18 points said it was overwhelming to think of how far this team had come this season, especially considering the fact the Lady Cougars lost two starters to season ending injuries to start the year, she said.

"This is phenomenal," Marshall said. "I'm at a loss for words."

"It's amazing to see the smiles on their faces," said elated Lady Cougars head coach Bob West as he watched his team celebrate after the victory.

When asked the key to them defeating the Lady Bears, West replied, "We played good defense." This was certainly an accurate statement as Weed held Mount Shasta to only a single point in the second quarter. West said that although they could not score consistently, the defense helped the Cougars earn the victory.

While the Bears came back from a 12-point deficit the end of the third quarter to cut the Cougar lead to three in the fourth quarter at 33-29 with under a minute remaining, the Cougars held on for a six-point win in front of a packed house against a team they are very familiar with. The squads had already met three times this season before Tuesday's game, with Weed winning two of those three games. And, both teams are members of the SCL, with the schools only around 11 miles apart from one another.

Marshall and Destinee Jones, who finished with 13 points, scored all but four of the Cougar points.

The Lady Cougars are now heading to Chico State University on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for the title game. Weed will take on top seeded Durham, which defeated the No. 4 seed, SCL squad Fall River 55-40 on Tuesday to improve to 22-6 for the season.

Both the Cougars and the Bears started out sluggish as the first quarter was full of turnovers and missed shots as the Lady Bears led 7-4 after one period of play.

The Cougars continued to play tenacious defense in the second quarter as the Bears did not score a single basket from the floor as the only point was scored on a free throw. The Cougars picked it up a bit on offense as they led 19-8 at the half. In the third quarter, Mount Shasta continued to struggle putting points on the board and did not score until Tori Hansen earned a basket with 3:30 left in the quarter to reduce the Cougar lead to 23-10. At the end of the quarter, Weed had a 26-14 advantage and seemed to have the game in hand. But, Mount Shatsa demonstrated that there was a reason they had made it this far in the playoffs and scored 15 points in the final quarter and started to mount a comeback. While they were able to get within three points near the end of the game, Weed, the No. 2 seed, hung on for the six-point win against the Bears, the No. 3 seed.

Page 2 of 2 - Mount Shasta head coach Kirk Andrus commended his team for the way they came back and battled in the fourth quarter and showed a lot of heart. But, he said, it was frustrating with the way they struggled to get points on the board in the first first half and had to dig its way out of a hole.

Janelle Jaegel led Mount Shasta scorers with seven points. Hansen added six points for the Bears as did Kathryn Andrus. Ashley Cain and Sejay Sarti each had five points apiece.

Weed, the SCL co-champions, improved to 21-8 overall while fellow co-champion Mount Shasta ended the year at 17-10.

Both the Weed and Mount Shasta boys teams are still alive in the playoffs and play in semifinal matches tonight. Weed, the No. 3 seed, is at fellow SCL squad Modoc at 6 p.m., while Mount Shasta, the No. 4 seed, is at top seed Liberty Christian of Redding. The game begins at 7 p.m.